Quality Magazine

Quality September 2020 cover

2020 September

Check out the September 2020 edition of Quality: Essential testing for essential industries, software scalability, eyepiece-less microscopes, the cost of quality and much more!

Cover Story

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Medical packages are tested

Essential Testing for Essential Industries

Force measurement is an important characteristic in meeting the requirements of a quality product.
Tracey Cheesman
August 26, 2020
3 Comments

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented surge in demand for healthcare and consumer products. This crisis has demanded stockpiles of supplies and has shifted the supply chain to local production. 


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Features

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connecting rods

The Veteran of Noncontact Metrology

Is air gaging still relevant in the 21st century?
Darren Dawes
September 2, 2020
14 Comments

It seems that everyone is interested in noncontact gaging these days. Laser scanners, structured light, confocal chromatic sensors, and CCD cameras have all made significant advances in the last decade, leaving us to wonder if this century old technology is still useful today.


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air gage

Does Air Gaging fit into a Modern World?

Air gaging is an extremely fast measurement method even when measuring difficult geometries.
Chris Koehn
September 2, 2020
11 Comments

All the buzz these days is about laser micrometers and vision systems. If you visit a tradeshow or get any online advertisement, many companies are promoting these measuring methods.


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hand writing on a graph

Cost of Quality

How a cost of quality approach, already customized for software and information technology, can be applied toward the deployment and implementation of Quality 4.0 in an organization.
Daniel Zrymiak
September 1, 2020
3 Comments

Existing models and quality characteristics used for software, systems, and data quality can be leveraged to identify cost categories and support the creation of a Cost of Quality System for Quality 4.0.


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eyepiece-less stereo zoom microscope

Looking to the Future: How to Keep Microscope Users Safe from Cross-Contamination

There are significant health benefits associated with eyepiece-less microscopes compared to eyepiece microscopes.
Nili Walp
September 1, 2020
No Comments

As the immediate threat of Covid-19 subsides, companies are creating plans for introducing safe working practices. When it comes to sharing equipment, especially microscopes, there are concerns regarding cross-contamination and effective cleaning because most of the time an operator’s eyes come in direct contact with microscope eyepieces.


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scalable software

How Scalable is your Software?

Quality methods call for quality software that will be embraced by all.
Qm1019 clmn guest columnb p1 author ian lazarus
Ian R Lazarus
August 26, 2020
3 Comments

In 1969, I had a microphone perched next to the radio, prepared to record each Beatles song played, just to satisfy my obsession at the time. What resulted on my old reel-to-reel player was a series of songs missing the first five seconds of each.


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Columns

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From the Editor, Darryl Seland

Technology Adoption

The importance of not only how many, but also how quick.
Darryl
Darryl Seland
September 1, 2020
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More important than the inventor, the first company to market, or even the technology itself, is adoption of the technology. Whether a technology is adopted early or late can make or break not only the technology, inventor, company, or entire industry, but also an entire economy.


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Face of Quality

Overcoming Resistance

Failed change results in missed opportunities
Jimsmith 200
Jim L. Smith
September 1, 2020
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In a recent gathering of quality professionals, the subject of unsuccessful change implementation surfaced. Most people understand change is necessary for survival, but in this era it is happening at an unprecedented, almost vertical rate. The bottom line though is that change is uncomfortable for most and it is common for people to resist change.


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Other Dimensions

State of the Art Part 2

What's new in the calibration field?
Hillcox 200
Hill Cox
September 1, 2020
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In my last column I mentioned the Market Research Study: United States Testing Laboratories done by the Consulting Group at Virginia Tech with Rachel Trebour as the project manager.


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Vision & Sensors

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machine vision lighting

The Importance of Lighting Control

Appropriate lighting can be critical to the success or failure of the project.
Jools Hudson
September 1, 2020
4 Comments

When an engineer begins the process of specifying a new machine vision system, they will often think very carefully about the line speed, the optics, and the image processing software.


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machine vision table

Machine Vision Systems Design: The Basics

Systems integration is the process of bringing together diverse and disparate components and sub-systems and making them function as a single unified system.
Perry C. West David Dechow
September 1, 2020
5 Comments

You’ve learned about light sources, lenses, cameras, camera interfaces, and image processing software. Now, you may be wondering exactly how to design and implement a complete, successful machine vision system. 


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Universal Robots’ UR+ platform

A Customizable Vision for the Quality Profession

The future of quality inspection is one that will see quality professionals working side-by-side with collaborative robots fitted with easily-swapped vision systems.
Joe Campbell
September 1, 2020
5 Comments

Over the past decade manufacturers have increasingly turned to flexible, customizable automation platforms to meet the demands of high mix/low volume orders and ensure their long-term survival in a competitive manufacturing environment.


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VS0920-FT-Software-p1FT-Image_Analysis.jpg

Several Common Image Analysis Software Tools in Machine Vision

There are many different ways that an image can be distorted.
Daniel Olache
September 1, 2020
8 Comments

In the world of machine vision, as in any tech field, there is a distinct divide between hardware and software. The hardware includes components of machine imaging systems such as the physical camera, lensing, cable interfaces, the PC or processor, etc. and are defined by rigid specifications (i.e. resolution of a camera, processing power, bandwidth of interface). 


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